In The Middle Of The Night
by John Riehle
Summary: Even Kim Possible needs a little help from time to time, especially when facing her worst nightmare.


Author's Note: Just a short little fluff piece. Takes place after the events of Dark Legacy. Leave a review, get a response.

Enjoy.

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Her lungs ached as they struggled to take in more oxygen. An intense sweat soaked her face as Kim Possible kept running. And running. Straight for nowhere and anywhere away from him!

He was behind her. She could hear his cackle, his sick cries of amusement. She felt her heart pounding against her chest as she tried to redouble her pace. She couldn't remember ever running so fast in her life, yet it seemed the faster she ran, the closer behind her he was. She still couldn't see him behind her, but he was there. He was always there.

Kim finally came into a clearing. It seemed so familiar to her. A playground where a young red headed Kimmie and her ball that she had been playing with had been saved from a pack of obnoxious bullies by a weird, yet sweet blonde little boy.

Kim was spinning as she took it in. The rotting wood of the tree under which they had first met seemed to perfectly compliment the dead grass beneath its branches, they grey sky overhead completing the ensemble.

"So, here we are again." The voice was here. He was here. She looked all around but couldn't see him. "We just keep coming back here, don't we?"

Kim tried to focus, yet she couldn't over the sound of his voice. It echoed everywhere as it bore down upon her like thunder. "I'm not scared of you."

"Of course you are KP." The voice sneered.

"Don't call me that. You don't get to call me that! Only…" She was cut off.

"Only Ron gets to call you that." Zorpox taunted as he stepped on a twig behind her, immediately drawing her attention to his smug, sadistic face as he stared her down. "Well then, I'd say an exception could be made for me. After all, we have just as much history as you and he do."

Kim couldn't speak. She expressed herself far better through action as she kicked out at him, but Zorpox casually dodged the attack even as he retaliated with a powerful yet seemingly casual right slap that stung hard across Kim's cheek.

"Come on Kim. Don't you know I already know every one of your moves?" Zorpox stepped back, his arms wide as if offering Kim a more convenient target.

"Then I'll just have to come up with some new ones." Kim moved into a flying spin kick, and followed through with a foot swipe but Zorpox dodged both attacks with seemingly effortless ease. She then launched a series of quick jabs at him but he deflected or dodged every one of them before finally catching her fist in his hand. Grabbing tightly, he twisted her arm down and then around behind her.

"Ha, that's rich. You're not very good at change KP. In fact, you haven't changed since kindergarten." Zorpox sneered into her ears before pushing her straight into the ground. Her face fell indignantly into the mud as Zorpox simply laughed in amusement.

Fuming mad, Kim leapt back to her feet and launched a fury of assorted attacks. Punch, kick, jab, swipe, varying the attacks in order as she looked for an opening. Yet there was none. Up, down, left, right, where ever she struck, she seemed to strike an inch too far in one direction or another as he continued to dodge and dance past every one of her attacks.

"You're still just the same, scared little girl Kimmie." Zorpox kicked out, hitting her squarely in the midsection and knocking the wind right out of her. "All that tough, super hero stuff, that's just an act. You've been scared of losing your ball ever since kindergarten. You just put on a tough face so the bullies will think twice."

Kim ached to take in several short breaths even as she rose up, eyeing her opponent. Her heart was pounding, her entire body trembling as she could swear that he was getting taller… bigger somehow.

She leapt across the distance between them with a drop kick. Her foot impacted squarely against his chest, yet he didn't even flinch from the impact as she bounced off him as if he were made of solid steel.

"But take away those cool toys, those hot moves and minus one dumb side kick and do you know who you are?" Zorpox stared down at his opponent, a tiny, timid little red headed Kimmie in a simple sun dress. "You're nobody." He echoed, towering over her. "Just a scared little girl."

And then, he struck.

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Kim Possible snapped into the waking world, her head spinning as her hands clutched tightly at the pillow of her motel bed. Her breathing was rapid as she panted heavily, sweat soaking her pillow and jersey even as she reached for her blanket to warm her, clutching it needingly.

She quickly reached for the light next to the bed as she urgently scanned her surroundings. Eventually, satisfied that she was safe for the moment, she looked down at the alarm clock next to her. Thirty five minutes past two in the morning. Somehow, it felt like it should be earlier than that.

Kim tried to lay back in bed as she continued to try to bring her breathing under control. As her senses and mind slowly began to wake up along with the rest of her body, she remembered where she was.

Kim looked around her passable motel room. She and Ron had been on a mission but couldn't find a ride home until tomorrow and so Wade had been forced to set them up with less than luxurious accommodations until their trip home in the morning.

Ron.

Kim's mind filled itself with a singular purpose as she rose out of bed. Without another thought to her relative state of undress, she grabbed the blanket from her bed, wrapped it around her waist and opened the door. Feeling the cool evening breeze over her face helped calm her as she closed the door behind her and then made her way directly to the room door immediately next to her own.

Kim knocked loudly on the door as she called out his name. When there was no response she kept knocking, and knocking, largely unaware of the level of noise she was even making until the sound of the door knob on the other side fumbling caught her attention and the door immediately open to reveal a confused, weary, and sleep deprived boyfriend, best friend and partner.

"KP? Whuzz…" Ron never got a chance to finish mumbling his question as Kim threw herself around him, her arms wrapping tightly around, letting her blanket fall to the ground as she shivered into his chest, her breathing still heavy.

Ron suddenly snapped to attention as his arms suddenly found their way of their own accord towards her shoulders, wrapping themselves slowly around his trembling girlfriend as he looked down, her face concealed behind her bright red hair, in concern.

"KP, what's…?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" She asked in a hushed whisper.

"Huh." Ron felt his throat tighten at the question.

"Just sleep. Can I sleep in here tonight?" She asked plainly and to the point, her head still pressed against his chest.

"Uh, yeah. S-sure." Ron agreed uneasily. A thousand questions and a thousand more begged to be heard, but Ron left them all at bay as he slowly took Kim in hand, pulling her further inside, swiping up her blanket and closing the door behind her in the off chance someone happened to catch her walking around in her current state.

Without another word, he slowly led her over to the bed in his room, pulling the covers aside as she let herself fall onto it.

"I'll just sleep right on the floor if you need any…" Ron had moved to lie on the hard, cheaply carpeted floor when Kim's hand clung sharply to his wrist, catching his attention immediately as he turned back to her.

She didn't say anything. She didn't even seem so afraid anymore as she calmly and certainly pulled him, without resistance, into the bed with her, pulling the covers over them both. Quickly turning off the light by the bed, Kim lay down, pulling Ron's arm over her as if for warmth as she fell into her pillow. Ron continued to go along with slight uncertainty as he lay next to his girlfriend.

It seemed as if she had stopped trembling as she lay, never saying a word. It was only a matter of seconds later that sounds of her breathing settling into a deep and regular rhythm signaled to him that she had quickly fallen fast asleep.

With growing ease, Ron allowed himself to nuzzle into her lush hair as his arm moved down around her waste, his eyes feeling very heavy as a soft smile spread across his face.

"Sweet dreams KP."

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Zorpox's fist came flying at her, only to be caught by a mission gloved hand. Zorpox looked on in sudden surprise as his strike had been caught, not by a frightened young girl, but by a strong, able young woman sporting a familiar set of brown pants and a black mission shirt.

Kim's foot shot directly into Zorpox's jaw, knocking him back even as Kim leapt up into the air with lightening fury, landing a drop kick to Zorpox's already bruised jaw, sending him falling into the mud this time.

Zorpox hissed as he pulled his brown stained face up towards Kim. Jumping back up he lunged towards her, but Kim casually leapt over him, landing a kick to his backside as she sailed through the air with natural grace and power, sending him stumbling back to the ground.

Crying out in rage, Zorpox brought himself up to his feet and right into a solid fist across his face, causing him to stumble back even as Kim stood before him with a look of iron resolve on her.

"Well, looks like someone's wearing her adult pants today." He tried taunting desperately. Zorpox kicked out for Kim's face but his foot caught against Kim's waiting hand as she caught the attack, leaving him to squirm helplessly in her steel grip.

"It's not about what I wear." Kim's elbow crashed down on his knee, causing him to cry out in pain as she dropped his leg, leaving him to clutch at it helplessly as he tried to limp away. "Or who I pretend to be."

Zorpox lashed out with a pitiful strike that barely passed within three inches of Kim's face. Kim's strike on the other hand landed squarely across Zorpox's jaw, leaving him to clutch at it too as he cried out in jumbled agony.

"It's about what I do, about who I am underneath that matters. I'm not some little girl, or some cheer leader, or even a super hero." Zorpox lunged helplessly at her, his arms raised to strike, but Kim kicked past them, straight for his chest, knocking him down to the ground.

"I'm Kim Possible, I can do anything and I'm bored with you Zorpox." She declared as she looked down on his unmoving form.

For a long moment, Kim stared down at him, un-expectantly, until something caught her attention. A red playground ball bounced across the green grass, rolling up to the base of the lushly leafed tree before her.

"Hey KP!" A young, blonde haired, freckled little boy called out from across the playground. "Wanna play catch?"

"Sure." Little Kimmie anxiously ran over to the ball, picking it up and tossing it after her best friend as the two ran off under the bright yellow sun.

The End

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Author's Note: Coming soon, Hero's Legacy


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